Breathe Fire
by teenwaste
Summary: Jin Fei is a lowly kitchen scullion in the Earth King's palace, with a great secret. When she aids the Avatar and his friends in the crystal catacombs, how will their story transform? semi-AU, zuko/oc, tokka, kataang
1. Preface

Preface

"Miss Kojin, we just got some great Asparagus-pears in from the North—" How offered one to her, his big gray eyes shining. The young girl took the fruit from his hand, rolling it experimentally in her palm, feeling the weight and the softness. Neither she nor Cook Muraki knew how to cook in the Northern style, let alone with northern fruits, but Jin resolved to spend an hour or two consulting cookbooks in the library to perhaps make an appetizer. She knew that the Earth King loved the sweet-tangy taste of asparagus-apples, and she decided that this fruit wouldn't be so different. Jin nodded at How, and he smiled, filling a sack with about seven plump fruits. "It'll be three yuans if we include your lemon-basil and that guavanana." She handed him five and touched his cheek. The twelve-year-old with dark skin smiled shyly and murmured thanks.

"I'll see you tomorrow and let you know how I've done with the Asparagus-pears. They look really good, and I've never tried one,"

How winked at Jin as he began serving another customer, an old woman from the lower ring called Haruka. Haruka had shining white hair, always tied up in a topknot and adorned with old-looking combs and jewels. Everyone knew that in her youth Haruka was a petty thief and good at it. She was a good person to buy trinkets from, but Jin's religious side gave her a sort of aversion to having too many material possessions. The only thing she had ever bought from Haruka was a dirty maroon brooch shaped like a hissing cat, engraved with the words "breathe fire". Jin found it fitting, but said nothing as to why. As she walked away from the market and towards the station, Jin nodded to Haruka. Jin brushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear and boarded the train to the upper ring.

The train ride back to home, if that's what she could call it, was a special half an hour for Kojin. She looked out the window and thought about things. Sometimes she would get home and write them all down. Other times she wouldn't. It was a precious little moment in the hustle and bustle of working in the king's palace as a cook.

Today she gazed out the window and contemplated her name. _Kojin_. God of the kitchen. When she was younger, she visited her uncle's library and learned that in the Southwestern regions of the Earth Kingdom, Kojin was known as the god of fire. Jin smiled mirthfully to herself as she acknowledged the irony. A wave of fury suddenly washed over her, making her head throb. She knew that feeling, it was all too familiar.

Ever since she reached the age of fourteen, whenever Jin got a little too angry, her head would begin thumping, and she acutely felt the heat of her blood rushing through her body, and it took an incalculable amount of control to do what she was forced to do every minute of every day. It took every muscle in her body contracting, every bone and cell keeping completely still to keep small flames from licking the tips of her fingers, from steam appearing when she exhaled.

Kojin Fei, sixteen-year-old kitchen apprentice to the Royal Cook, was a firebender.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Hey guys! I hope you liked that preface. Of course, I revealed her secret in the first chapter. Now, I know you may have many questions, like _Why is this Kojin kid a firebender_ and _Is she a spy_ but fear not! All your questions will be answered… eventually! Cheers!

-teenwaste-

Chapter I

After rushing to her dormitory with quick, unladylike steps, Kojin shut herself in her wardrobe (a tight fit) and screamed into the thick sleeve of her quju shenyi. The heat pooling in the pit of her stomach dissipated a little. Jin took quick little breaths until her face and neck felt tingly and numb. This was becoming a nearly daily thing. She was jealous of the earthbenders that as far as she could tell never had this sort of problem. They went about their business without a care in the world. Then again, she mused, they don't have to keep their bending a secret from everyone around them. She crawled out of the wardrobe and stood in between two bunks, resigning herself to

Sighing, Jin unwrapped the sash on her shenyi and tugged on the tightly wrapped lapels of the garment. She enjoyed the coziness of a snugly wrapped quju but removing it was becoming a pain. Recently Jin was becoming more and more frustrated for little things, like her hair being tangled in the gold woven hem of her collar. She tugged and tugged until it came free. She exhaled as the garment finally fell to the floor.

Naked except for her bindings, Jin reached into a cabinet above her for her men's zhiju. It was a grimy pale green, and she could never decide whether it was because of its age or that was the color it was intended to be. Spirits forbid something exists in Ba Sing Se that isn't green or brown or gold. She wrapped it around her curves, grimacing when she brushed her fingers against a bit of flesh peeking out from her lower bindings. She ignored the fact that her bindings were wrapped so tightly it would've created that kind of bulge on anyone. After loosely tying a mint green sash around her waist, Kojin sidestepped her way around the bunks, collecting the bag of fruit as she did.

The midday sun warmed her face in a way only few things could, and she drank in the light like her life depended on it.

"What're you doing, _Jing_?" giggled a high-end lady-in-waiting, rounding the corner, hand in hand with another one, similarly dressed but taller.

Jin narrowed her eyes. "Wow, I'm kind of enamored with this new one," Jin smiled sardonically at the nickname, "What is it…? Essence? _Kidney_ essence? Charming, truly charming." Jin moved the straps of the beg up her arm so she could clap, "Well done, girls." She paused, "As a matter of fact, I'm going to learn how to cook in the Northern style."

"Northern style!?" One of them blurted, her headpiece shaking as she did so. Her makeup was immaculately caked onto her face, her blue eye powder blinding.

"_Why _would you want to cook like the Northern peasants, Jing?" The other one squeaked, looking disgusted.

"Because only they know how to properly boil and spice good asparagus-pears. Or would you rather starve? You know Muraki doesn't actually cook for you, right?" Jin's lips curled, and with that she turned towards the western entrance to the kitchen. She heard the indignant spluttering of the small, pale girls who had evidently never eaten anything grown outside of the East, and shrugged to herself.

Jin turned the fourth corner into a large courtyard, thoroughly enjoying the spring sunlight beating onto the top of her head, soothing her ache. There were few clouds in the sky, and it was so unusually silent in the palace that Jin felt a sense of peace settle over her. Her left arm, a little weary from carrying the heavy fruits, swung gracefully from side to side as Jin continued her leisurely walk to the kitchen, where she was sure Cook Muraki would fly at her in a rage, screaming that he has _not_ asked for some Northern shit, but for some good Eastern asparagus-apples.

She was figuring out what sort of explanation she'd give to her master when she felt the ground beneath her feet rumble violently. _An earthquake_? Jin wondered as she began increasing her speed as she walked. She had degenerated to a frantic run by the time she passed along a line of perfectly trimmed cypress trees. Then, all of a sudden, the rumbling stopped. She heard voices, and hid behind a wall. Jin never had particularly excellent hearing, so all she could make out was a young guy, and an older man speaking. She swore she could hear a goat-monkey's chitter, but she dismissed it as the wind, or the birds. She then heard another huge rumble, but not like the first one—it was a low growling, like a huge cow-swine or a buffalo-hawk. She looked up to see a dark oval-shaped shadow swoop over her.

In shock, Jin squeezed her eyes shut. By the time she had opened them again, the oval-thing was gone and the air was silent once more. She turned the corner and saw an enormous gaping hole digging deep into the ground. Jin shook her head: _this has to be a dream_. She touched her chest, right above her heart. Sure enough, the cat-brooch was still there, pinned to the inside of her bindings and digging into the soft skin of her breast. The pain felt all too real.

"Okay, Jin. There is a huge gaping hole right in front of you." Jin inhaled, "do you go in yes or no?" She nibbled her lip in worry. The two words bounced around in her head: _Yesnoyesnoyesnoyesnoyes—_another huge rumble, from within the hole, snapped her out of her reverie.

"Oh, fuck it." Jin swore, ducking her head and stepping into the hole. She began walking. It was dark, very dark. After five minutes and a second rumble, Jin was plunged into the most complete darkness she'd ever experienced. At this point she was sure she was following an earthbender who was obviously digging this hole on his own. She debated for one moment and thought, _first of all, he's too far away to see me. Second of all, even if he does see me firebending, he's digging a huge damn hole in the royal palace._ Jin inhaled deeply, exhaled, and created a little fireball at the end of her finger. She rolled her sleeve up and kept her arm at a distance. As she continued to walk forward in the tunnel, she began to think about her firebending, and how strange it all was.

When she was seven, she had started to become acquainted with the young earthbenders in her neighborhood in the middle ring. They were stocky, but strong. She, on the other hand, was tall, kind of chubby, and weak. She felt like an outcast. One afternoon before dinner, she was practicing some earthbending moves her friend Aia had taught her, still unconvinced of her nonbending status. After a particularly aggressive punch, she felt a strange tingling heat smoldering at her knuckles. She thrust her fist into her own face, probing it to see what was wrong. When she finally began paying attention, she noticed a black, charred area on the wall she had punched. She was so overcome with shock that she had so furiously rubbed the wall away of the black that her fingers and palm bled and were in pain for weeks. She clenched and unclenched that very fist.

'It's been a while since I heard that rumbling…" Jin murmured to herself, looking up from her feet. She saw an eerie green light at the end of the tunnel. _This is exciting_, she thought_. It's like I'm finally going on an adventure_.

She ran towards the green light, making sure she didn't trip over the uneven terrain. She stopped when she finally came to the exit of the tunnel. What she saw was one of the most beautiful sights she'd ever seen. It was a huge room lit by crystals. There was a waterfall (underground!) and canals running on the floor of the chamber. Jin's eyes widened. She clambered down from the tunnel into the room, using the crystals jutting out from the walls beneath her as footholds. She climbed down, taking her time (Jin was never good at the outdoorsy kind of sport). When she finally landed onto the main floor of the catacomb, she breathed in. The air was humid and misty, but it smelled of flowers. Jin smoothed down her zhiju, adjusting the sash a little.

Just as she made her way to the middle of the room, she heard the pitter-patter of running feet. Jin hid behind a boulder covered in large crystals in terror.

"We've got to find Sokka and Toph!" she heard a girl say. _Sokka? Toph? _

Before Jin could think about those odd names any further, she heard an electric bang, and a bright bluish light almost blinded her. She could hear rocks and debris flying all over from the place in front of her boulder where the electric band had hit. Through a crystal, she could see two smallish figures recoiling from the impact of being thrown backwards, and a greenish blob in the distance. Then, quick as lightning, Jin heard the familiar slosh of water being moved. Though she didn't see much, the small figure dressed in blue seemed to be carrying water beside her, the volume of the water increasing quickly. _A waterbender_! Jin's eyes widened. She had to crouch down and cover her ears—a deafening series of bangs ensued, followed by a short silence, then more bangs. More sloshing. Then, the familiar rumbling of rocks being shifted. Another deafening silence.

As quick as it came, the silence was broken by the sound of a flame. A firebender? Jin's heart raced as she made this realization. She poked her head in between the crystals and counted: blue girl, a waterbender; orange boy, an I-don't-know-what; green girl, a lightning-bender; and green boy, a firebender. She worried her lips anxiously, not appreciating the confrontational silence. Who would green boy side with? Her question was answered by a fireball directed at orange boy, who nimbly jumped out of the way and blew a gust of wind towards green boy. Then, it became chaos. Green girl shot bolts of lightning and blue fire at blue girl, who retaliated just as strongly and swiftly with huge amounts of water from the waterfall, while green boy and orange boy shot wind and fire at each other like maniacs. Jin had curled into the fetal position, completely terrified.

She stayed like that for a while, until she saw two plumes of golden fire sprout up from green boy's arms. Oh, how she wished she had had formal firebending training, so she could help—"Help who?" cackled a high-pitched voice in her mind. She was soberly reminded of _why_ she had to hide her firebending all her life, _why_ she had kept such an integral part of herself secret for so long. The Fire Nation was the enemy. This whole time she was rooting for green boy, when he was probably out to kill her and the whole earth kingdom, firebender or not.

"How could I be so stupid!" she hissed to herself, shifting to a position where she was able to see the whole battle through a chink in the crystal formation. Jin saw orange boy leaping from stalactite to stalactite, avoiding green boy's fire arms. Then, he somehow created a crack in a thick ceiling protrusion and drove it into the ground. Jin's whole body shook with the reverberations. An itching feeling told her to leave, that this stuff was too powerful for her. That she was way out of her league. She didn't deny this to herself, but she refused to go. Something kept her knees and feet rooted to the ground, her eyes fixed on the intense battle going on in front of her. Then, blue girl spoke.

"I thought you had changed!" she shouted. She and green boy were having an arm-fight—she with long whips of water, him with arms of fire.

"I have changed." Green boy said, his raspy voice chilling Jin to the bone with its coldness and stoicism. Before she could do anything else, a dust cloud from the wall to the east drew her attention. _Orange boy! _She thought. She almost went to help him, but once again her attention was drawn to the green couple, shooting flames of red and blue in a double assault against blue girl. She was putting up a good fight, but was still thrown backwards into a cluster of crystals that I thought might've killed her if I didn't see her groan and push herself up onto her elbow. Then, orange boy reappeared, earthbending himself towards the green couple. He still got knocked off his feet. So many things happened at once—green girl created an offensive octopus with waterbending, orange boy was in a fighting stance, green couple and an army of the Dai Li that appeared out of nowhere. Orange boy encased himself in a tent of crystals, and within seconds broke free, his eyes and arrow markings glowing. Jin was so enamored that even she stepped out from behind her safe boulder to observe. But as quickly as it happened, he was struck with lightning, his face twisted into an expression of pain and shock. Green girl was smirking, her fingers smoking. Jin's eyesight became blurry. Orange boy was falling, falling, falling. Blue girl has him. She exhaled. More fire. Inhale. _Why am I still here_? She's holding him close to her. Jin is immobile.

An old man, the same one as before, "You've got to get out of here. I'll hold them off as long as I can!" Fire. So much fire. Blue girl readied herself to create a kind of passageway up, before a voice somewhere behind Jin said, "Wait! I can help!" and it took her a few moments as she caught up to orange boy and blue girl that it was her voice, and she wouldn't know how to help. Her legs were wet as the two girls held orange boy in somber, morose silence. Up, up, up they went. The sound of the fire died down, and the buzzing in Jin's ears subsided. Her breaths were coming shallowly, as she carried orange boy's legs to a huge behemoth that she was too shocked to even notice.

She was pulled on by a skinny brown arm, "Who's this?" silence.

"Who are you?"

"Kojin."

A pause. Blue girl takes water from a vial. It glows like orange boy's eyes. She presses it into orange boy's back. His markings glow, and he groans.

The king, who Jin hadn't even noticed until now, bowed his head.

"The Earth Kingdom has fallen." A lone tear falls from Jin's eye, and is followed by hundreds, maybe thousands more. She looks at blue girl. Blue girl looks back.

"Thank you." Blue girl whispers. Jin can't tell who it's directed to. She sleeps, and feels weightless. She sleeps, and forgets.


End file.
